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Monday, July 1, 2013

HOWARD STERN - The Often Misunderstood "King of All Media"

HOWARD STERNThe Often Misunderstood “King of All
Media”

By

Keith
"Dekker" Gleason

“What do you think of Howard Stern?”

A question I’ve asked many friends and co-workers over the years and more
often than not I get a response that is very negative. Most people think Howard
is a pervert, a misogynist, a monster and a racist. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Not too long ago, I heard on his show a poll they took on the
streets where Sal and Richard (show staff members) asked people walking by whether
Howard was worse than Hitler. Some of them actually preferred Hitler.

So where does this negative image
come from?

Having been a fan of Howard’s show
for a number of years now, I actually think the man is a comedic genius and
have a hard time understanding why people hate him. Is it because he goes into
areas that are uncomfortable for people, such as sex? Or is it the fact that he
speaks his mind about everything? Or has his image been entirely ruined because
of his headline-grabbing antics? Or is it the fact that he points out hypocrisy
in Hollywood
and the news? Or is there some other reason entirely?

I don’t consider my sense of humor
anything out of the ordinary but I have a hard time being offended by what I
hear on his show. The man is clearly having a good time while dissecting
current topics, conducting Hollywood
interviews and making fun of his staff members. Howard has always run his show
in a truthful manner and often brings the audience into his daily life, which
most fans really enjoy. There’s no host out there like him, and I think this is
the reason he’s so polarizing. He says what’s on his mind and doesn’t care who’s
listening. You have got to admire that quality in an entertainer, especially in
an industry that is 99% fake.

I didn’t always feel this way
though. I remember first hearing about Howard Stern in the early 90’s. He had
not been syndicated in Massachusetts
at that point in his career, but there was a news channel doing a story on one
of his latest offensive ventures. I was intrigued by this wild haired, rock
star-looking radio guy, cause let’s face it, most entertainment news reports
were on actors and directors. You rarely ever saw a story on an FM radio jockey. We
also had morning programs on the local rock station that featured wild FM hosts and I remember thinking “what’s the big deal about this Howard Stern
guy? He’s doing a broadcast just like anyone else, right?”

Fast forward a couple years later, I
moved to NJ to go to art school and every morning I had to commute on the busy
highways there. This was the first time I really listened to Howard Stern. I
remember that day he was making fun of the actor George Hamilton and his
ridiculous leathery tan. The jokes were funny as hell and Robin, his on air
sidekick, helped fuel the fire. It went on and on, he continued to make fun of
this sunburn-loving actor and I was laughing hysterically and now I understood why he was in the headlines. I continued to
listen to his show on my commute for the next few years. At this point I liked
his program very much but I was still not convinced that he was better than the
other morning shows back on WAAF 107.3 FM, my home town rock radio station.

This all changed in March of 1997 when
I saw Howard’s movie “Private Parts.” based on his best selling autobiography. I was blown away by how much of a pioneer
he was on this brand of entertainment, now called Shock Radio. Howard crafted a
show that broke all boundaries, smashed all radio show formats, and disobeyed
all kinds of well-established broadcasting rules. He was constantly attacked
for not sticking to such outdated concepts as reporting the weather and time every hour.
Station managers would get pissed at him for carrying on endless conversations
with his traffic copter girl about everything but the morning commute. This
stuff doesn’t seem like a big deal now, but back in the late 70’s no one had the
insight to break format like this. What other morning show host
would ask their traffic copter to fly by the Verrazano Bridge
just to witness all his fans flashing their high beams? You don't even hear bits like that on the radio nowadays.

Examples of Howard's early
ground-breaking shows can be heard at his current home on Sirius Satellite Radio, they will often re-run old broadcasts from his NBC days. After seeing “Private
Parts” I continued to listen to his show more intently and realized his shock
value image comes mostly from people not getting the show. More often than not, he’s
actually very smart and often very compassionate. This is the kind of stuff
that really irritates me and other Stern fans when people say he’s “the devil”
or that his program is for the “lowest common denominator.”

The Howard Stern show continues to
be one of the best radio shows in existence. The news section at the end of the
show is often one of the best parts of the broadcast. Robin will read out news
stories and they will dissect them with a laugh, while pointing out the vapid
behavior of today’s celebrities, some of the funniest comedy happens here. I
also enjoy the first hour of the show quite a bit, when Howard often talks
about his life or what happened to him the night before, his life is an open book
for the show. Howard is also the best interviewer in the business, hands down. He
has the ability to make a guest feel relaxed and open up about their lives. He
also cuts out a lot of the talk show BS you hear on Leno or Letterman. He can
take people that I have no interest in and make me care about them. His conversation
with Lady Gaga is a prime example of this. I wouldn’t have thought I'd have an interest in her and yet, it was one of his best
interviews of the year.

What about that compassion that I mentioned
earlier? There are many examples of Howard’s caring, generous nature. Howard
has been a big proponent of gay rights. He has talked about their struggle for equal rights in great lengths on his show. His
support and on air tirades have lead out of the closet actor George Takei (Sulu
from Star Trek) to become part of the show from time to time as the guest announcer.
He is also a very big supporter of abortion rights and has often championed a women’s
right to choose. Along with his wife Beth Ostrosky Stern, he often helps out the
North Shore Animal League, raising funds and helping to find homes for
abandoned pets. Sounds like an inhuman monster to me, right?

These are the things people don’t talk
about or know about Howard Stern. Like everything in this country, most people
judge a book by its cover rather than give someone or something a chance. I’m glad his
recent turnout as a judge for “America’s
Got Talent” has helped brighten up his image within people’s homes but after hearing the latest Stern street poll, we still have a long way to go. I’m just one of many
fans that preach the praise of Howard and I hope this article will help in a
small way to show people what I enjoy about his morning show and why he’s one
of my favorite celebrities of all time!

Baba Booey to you all!

Howard's new job as judge on America's Got Talent

My Top 5 Stern Show Moments of all
time

5)Chevy Chase Feud – Howard has had feuds with a lot
of celebrities over the years but this fight was one of the most entertaining.
It started with Chevy Chase bad-mouthing
Howard during a commercial break on the Larry King show. This got back to Stern
by a listener and the war began. These two went back and forth for over a year
straight. It finally reached a boiling point when Chevy called into the show to
ask how he could make it stop. Everywhere he went, he was being harassed by
Stern Show fans and he wanted it to end. Years later, after battling each other
for so long, Chevy finally made an in studio appearance and now they are good
friends. Howard even mentioned that Chevy came to his wedding and Howard has
helped out Chevy with a bunch of his charities as well.

4) Gary Love Tape – A cornerstone to the Howard Stern show has always
been poking fun at not only celebrities and guests, but also his staff on the
show. One of the best examples of this is the Gary Love Tapes. The tape was
sent into the show by one of Baba Booey’s (Gary's Nickname) ex-girlfriends,
and was an apology video asking her to get back together with him. It’s
every guy’s worst nightmare on film. Howard raised a ton of money to get Gary’s permission to air
it and the rest is history. Howard even filled the studio with guys willing to
pay for a chance to see it. Classic ball busting that still comes up on the
air from time to time.

3) George Washington
Bridge Jumper – This is an example of when
the show stops being a show and brutal reality sets in. On this particular day,
Howard got a call from a listener who was calling with a cell phone from on top
of the George Washington Bridge.
The guy had just lost his job and was contemplating ending it all by jumping
off. Howard talked to him for a while and kept him on the phone long enough
till the police arrived and they could take him to get help. A few short weeks
after the incident Howard called a press conferences to have himself honored as a
hero. He would talk on the air about how real heroes never need praise but then
he would go to the press conferences and carry on like a Diva. It was a
hilarious three weeks. This incident was so famous that it inspired the
beginning of the Robin Williams movie “The Fisher King”.

2) Howard Stern for Governor – What started as a funny bit on the air
snowballed into a real life political event. Howard announced he was going to
run for governor under the Libertine party. He was sworn in as a candidate and
even went on to campaign around NY State. His plan was to win and turn the
government seat over to his political partner and enact a couple of laws that
he was passionate about. The whole thing came crashing down when Howard was
required to open up his financial statements to the public which he did not
want to do. Who can blame him?

1) 9/11 Show – This I feel is the pinnacle of Stern Show history. I
listened to this broadcast again recently and it’s every bit as heartbreaking
as it was then. The reason I put this as number one though is because Howard
was willing to stay on the air after the twin towers went down just so he could
bring news updates from people reporting in all over New York. He took lots of calls from upset
people that day and provided a good place for people to converse and grieve
about the tragedy happening around them. He also stayed on the air well after
his show was supposed to end and finally shut it down once he thought he could
do no more for his state. The current mayor of New York
Rudy Giuliani came in a few weeks later to personally thank Howard and crew for
helping out NY in its greatest time of need.

Richard Christie gets Waxed – Besides all the great moments I mentioned above, I felt I also needed to mention one of the funnier more bizarre circus moments of the show. This also showcases Howard's ability to find funny moments in situations that normally wouldn't be. On this segment Stern show staffer Richard Christie volunteered to get a Brazilian wax on his private parts live on the air. The sounds of pain that was released from his mouth as each hair was ripped out is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. So simple yet so funny! give a listen below and see what I'm talking about.

Keith “Dekker” Gleason – “Hero Envy” CentralKeith Gleason is the creator of the"Hero Envy"
webisode series. Besides writing and starring in the series, he is also
the brainchild behind the graphic novel of the same name. He is one of the
Reckless Sidekicks on the "Swass-Cast"
memorabilia podcast and in his spare time travels around the state
performing stand up comedy and hitting arcades looking for working
versions of Dragon’s Lair.

Stern truly is a very funny guy, and one of the best interviewers around.

Still, I felt he was funnier on normal radio when he had to be creative with his language. Also when he had Jackie Martling as a writer.

Stern does have to big problems:1-His incessant whining about being "ripped off" by everyone, and how he invented everything.

I recall here in L.A. back in the mid-90's (when I was a regular listener) after his show (same station) there was this show hosted by two guys who would talk humorously about local news and take calls. They not only didn't do anything like Stern, they in fact would purposely avoid anything remotely like his show.

But that didn't stop Stern from attacking them on several occasions and accusing them of "copying me".

As a listener to their show who knew it wasn't true, it made me skeptical of all the other people I;'ve not heard whom Stern accuses of theft.

2-Stern's personal hypocrisy.

I recall how Stern would always make fun of celebrities who divorce their wives for younger women, and who neglect their kids, and radio hosts who abuse their power to shut down younger guys.

Yet he did all those things! This new wife of his, and his daughters, one of whome did some stupid play screaming about her vagina. You can't tell me these kids aren't screwed up in the head from having Stern as a father.

And his harassing of Opie&Anthony certainly osn't admirable, regardless of what thinks of them.

As Stern himself admitted:"That's right. I believe in censoring anyone who is my enemy...I believe in censorship when it benefits me."

http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=186874

Stern certainly is entertaining, but he's also a hypocrite dick. The two are not mutually exclusive.

You make some valid points about Howard but I think also he would be the first to admit he was out of his mind back in the terrestrial radio days. I'm not sure if you listen to his satellite radio show at all but you can see how therapy for the last 15 years or so has really shaped him into more of a stable person and less insane.

There's a great radio documentary you can probably find it online called the "History of Howard Stern" he talks a lot the points you mentioned above, a lot of it was him being crazy but also wanting to make a name for himself.

About Me

I'm a comic and toy historian who writes for ALTER EGO, THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR,RETRO FAN and BACK ISSUE magazine. I run "Saturday Morning Collectibles" where we buy and sell everything pop culture (especially vintage Marvel and DC toys and comics). I also represent and manage comic legend "Rascally" Roy Thomas. Contact me at johnstretch@live.com for seminar speakings, buying or selling, appraisals, private signings and appearances for Mr. Thomas. Follow me on Instagram at megostretchhulk, on twitter @Elastic_Hulk and listen to my Power Cosmic Podcast every week because I like attention...